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Acclaimed jazz producer Orrin Keepnews has died, aged 91. Keepnews passed away at his home in El Cerrito, California on Sunday (01Mar15), a day before his 92nd birthday.
He began his career as a journalist and editor, but he kicked off his prolific journey into music by co-founding Riverside Records with Bill Grauer in 1953.
Nearly all the jazz recordings at the label were produced by Keepnews, and the talent roster included the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Ma Rainey, Cannonball Adderley, Randy Weston and Charlie Byrd.
Legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk signed with Riverside in 1955, and Keepnews helped craft some of the musician's most beloved albums, including 1956's Brilliant Corner and 1957's Monk's Music.
Riverside went bankrupt in the mid-1960s, and Keepnews worked at a few other jazz labels before founding Landmark Records, which became the home of acts such as the Kronos Quartet, Buddy Montgomery and Yusef Lateef.
Keepnews earned Grammy Awards, including Best Album Notes for The Interplay Sessions by Bill Evans in 1984 and Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes for Thelonious Monk: The Complete Riverside Recordings in 1988. He also won a Best Historical Album Grammy in 1999 for The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973).
In 2004, he was presented with a Trustees Award for Lifetime Achievement by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and in 2010 was named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment of the Arts for his "significant contributions" to the field of jazz.

British royal Prince William has been cleared to start work with an air ambulance service after passing his pilot exams. Last year (14), the Duke of Cambridge announced plans to take up a role with the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) service in the east of England to utilise the flying skills he learned as a Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue pilot to help in medical emergencies.
The Prince had to take a number of exams to qualify for the job, and it has now been announced that he has passed.
He will take up training after he returns from his current royal engagement in Asia next month (Mar15).

We've already discussed Easter Eggs in movies and the many ways filmmakers create in-jokes and references for savvy viewers and those in the know, but today we're taking a look at filmmakers referencing other filmmakers (or their stars...or themselves). We bet you'll never watch these movies the same way again.
Honoring Directors They Admire:
1. Star Wars in Star Trek
Paramount Pictures
It's no surprise that Super 8 director J. J. Abrams is a Star Wars fan, but we bet you never caught R2-D2's appearance in both Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness. It looks like Star Wars: The Force Awakens won't be Abrams' first time with the Star Wars world.
Giving a Nod To Its Stars' Careers
2. Romy and Michele's High School Reunion's wink at Quentin Tarantino
Buena Vista Pictures
The comedy has a few subtle references to Quentin Tarantino's film universe. At the time, Mira Sorvino (Romy) was dating Tarantino. Thus, the keen eye can discern a Big Kahuna Burger take-out bag behind Michele's head in the scene where they pig out and decide to emulate top female executives. In one of the next scenes, an ad for Red Apple Cigarettes can be seen behind their car. Both of these brands were made up by Tarantino for his films. Red Apple cigarettes can be seen in films like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Four Rooms, and From Dusk Til Dawn.
3. Bruce Willis' Favorite Song
20th Century Fox via Everett Collection
Die Hard With A Vengeance has a Pulp Fiction reference in it! Who knew? Bruce Willis' Pulp Fiction character, Butch, is driving around while "Flowers on the Wall" by the Statley Brothers plays on his radio and he sings along before running into Marsellus Wallace. Die Hard's John McClane exits a cab in the 1995 film with Samuel L. Jackson and references his time suspended by reciting the same lyrics from Pulp Fiction: "I was working on a nice fat suspension. Smokin cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo." Willis starred in Pulp Fiction with Jackson between Die Hard 2 and Die Hard With A Vengeance.
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with Rango
sodahead.com
The beginning of Rango features the Johnny Depp-voiced reptile landing on the windshield of a convertible driven by none other than Duke and Gonzo from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Johnny Depp paying tribute to Johnny Depp.
5. Adam Brody in Mr. &amp; Mrs. Smith
20th Century Fox via Everett Collection
Okay, maybe everyone just really loves Fight Club and Brad Pitt, right? In the 2005 rom-com action movie, Seth Cohen plays the man they're both assigned to kill, which is how they realize they're both spies. The whole time, Brody is wearing a Fight Club t-shirt. It's pretty obvious whose side he's on.
6. Fight Club Starring Brad Pitt
20 Century Fox
Fight Club has a bunch of hidden gems in it, including advertisements for its main stars. Theater marquees within the movie advertise films starring Brad Pitt (Seven Years In Tibet), Edward Norton (The People Vs. Larry Flynt), and even Helena Bonham Carter (The Wings of the Dove, although it's obscured by a bus in the scene, so this is questionable).
Paying Homage To Themselves:
7. The Social Network's Tyler Durden
Columbia Pictures
Fight Club's director David Fincher has also been known to reference his own movies. In The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg's Zuckerberg uses Facebook for help on an Art History assignment. The profile he's viewing? Tyler Durden's.
8. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory
Warner Bros.
In the Tim Burton adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic, Charlie's father works for Smilex toothpaste factory; this is a reference to the poison Joker unleashed on Gotham in the Burton-directed Batman by hiding it in their toothpaste. During a tour of the factory, Wonka walks by a room of pink sheep as he says, "I'd rather not talk about this one." While this may just seem like a way to accentuate his eccentricity, Burton's actually referencing his Ed Wood biopic, also starring Johnny Depp; director Ed Wood was a notorious cross-dresser with an affinity for pink wool. In other scenes throughout the movie, children in the Halloween flashback wear masks of Lock, Shock, and Barrel from The Nightmare Before Christmas and a door in the factory is marked "BeetleJuicing."
9. Before Sunrise/Waking Life/Dazed and Confused
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Oscar-nominated writer-director Richard Linklater's film worlds seem to intersect at times. Like when Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy reprise their characters Jesse and Celine from Before Sunrise in the rotoscope dream movie Waking Life, which they then reference in Before Sunset. But there are subtler ways in which the films inhabit the same world: pinball. The same pinball machine can be found in at least three of Linklater's films: Waking Life, Before Sunrise, and Dazed and Confused.
10. Friends With Benefits picks up Easy A
Screen Gems
Director Will Gluck references his 2010 hit comedy Easy A in the totally-okay-but-not-as-successful 2011 film Friends With Benefits. The sign at the airport for an "O. Penderghast" alludes to Emma Stone's character in Easy A. Stone appears in both films and is flawless in both.
Paying Tribute To Other Directors:
11. Indiana Jones/Star Wars/E.T.
Paramount Pictures
R2-D2 makes another appearance - this time in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Spielberg paid tribute to Indiana Jones writer George Lucas by including hieroglyphics of the Star Wars droid in the 1981 film. Three years later, Spielberg did it again by naming a club in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom after Obi-Wan Kenobi.
12. E.T. in Star Wars
20th Century Fox
And then George Lucas thanks Steven Spielberg by featuring E.T. the Extra Terrestrial in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
13. Evil Dead 2/Nightmare on Elm Street
Paramount Pictures
Director Sam Raimi pays homage to Wes Craven in Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn by sneaking iconic slasher Freddy Krueger's glove in the background of a few scenes.
Paying Tribute To The Genre:
14. Scream
GIPHY/reddit.com
Scream is more jam-packed with references than most other movies. It's basically a two-hour homage to the horror genre entirely. The character Billy Loomis borrows his last name from Psycho's Sam Loomis before quoting Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. The janitor outside Principal Himbry's office (played by director Wes Craven himself) is named Fred and wears Freddy Krueger's iconic striped shirt. The film is so saturated with in-jokes and references that it's pretty easy for even the most savvy viewers to miss Scream Queen Linda Blair's brief cameo. Take comfort in understanding the constant name-checking of other horror flicks.

Quincy Jones has paid tribute to his mentor Clark Terry following the jazz trumpeter's death on Saturday (21Feb15). The veteran musician, who had been battling advanced diabetes in recent years, passed away less than two weeks after he was admitted to a hospice as his health declined.
Jones honoured his friend in a statement which reads, "The world has lost one of the greatest trumpeters to ever grace the planet. Clark Terry was my first trumpet teacher as a teen in Seattle, my idol and my brother.
"When he left the (Count) Basie and (Duke) Ellington bands, also two of my idols, to join mine, it was one of the most humbling moments in my life. I hope the world will remember and celebrate the enormous contributions that Clark has made to America's musical lexicon. I will miss my mentor and friend terribly."
Acclaimed producer Jones was only 13 when he began studying under Terry, and they continued their collaborative relationship throughout their lengthy careers.
Jones also produced 2014 documentary Keep On Keepin' On, a film following Terry's work with 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin.

Jazz great Clark Terry has died, aged 94. The veteran musician, who had been battling advanced diabetes in recent years, passed away less than two weeks after he was admitted to a hospice as his health declined.
His wife, Gwen Terry, shared the sad news in a post on Facebook on Saturday night (21Feb15), writing, "Our beloved Clark Terry has joined the big band in heaven where he'll be singing and playing with the angels. He left us peacefully, surrounded by his family, students and friends... We will miss him every minute of every day, but he will live on through the beautiful music and positivity that he gave to the world."
The flugelhorn and trumpet player rose to fame playing with Count Basie from 1948 to 1951 and he became Duke Ellington's sidekick throughout the 1950s. He later became the first African-American staff musician at TV network NBC, where he spent 12 years in The Tonight Show band.
Terry released more than 80 albums throughout his career and performed with stars including Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Charles Mingus, Aretha Franklin, Clifford Brown, Milt Jackson and Quincy Jones.
He received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award in 2010 and published his autobiography a year later, in 2011. He was the subject of an acclaimed 2014 documentary, Keep on Keepin' On, which showed Clark mentoring 23-year-old blind piano prodigy Justin Kauflin.

Jazz great Clark Terry has entered a hospice after battling advanced diabetes for several years. The news of the revered trumpeter and flugelhorn player's health battle was revealed in a post on his website on Friday (13Feb15).
The message reads: "It is with a heavy heart we share that our beloved Clark Terry is now in hospice care. (His wife) Gwen and the healthcare team are making sure that Clark is as comfortable as possible. During this time the family is asking for your prayers."
The 94-year-old former sideman for Count Basie and Duke Ellington became the first African-American staff musician at TV network NBC, where he spent 12 years in The Tonight Show band.

Boyhood, The Theory Of Everything and The Grand Budapest Hotel were among the big winners at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards on Sunday (08Feb15). Boyhood scored the coveted Best Film prize, while filmmaker Richard Linklater claimed Best Director and Patricia Arquette was named Best Supporting Actress.
Hawke accepted the director award on Linklater's behalf, as the filmmaker had opted to attend the Directors Guild Awards in Los Angeles the previous night (07Feb15) instead. Hawke says, "He was hijacked at the DGAs and sat there losing and is going to be really, frankly, p**sed off, that he’s not here tonight."
Linklater lost the top directing prize at the DGA ceremony to Birdman's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
The Theory of Everything was another triple winner, scoring Outstanding British Film, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Leading Actor for Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking.
In his acceptance speech, the star paid tribute to Hawking and his wife Jane, who were in the audience at London's Royal Opera House, saying, "I would like to thank them for their trust in us, their generosity and their kindness and for reminding me of the great strength that comes from having the will to live a full and passionate life."
The Grand Budapest Hotel landed the most prizes of the night with five, but its biggest win was in the Best Original Screenplay category for writer/director Wes Anderson, with the remaining accolades coming in the technical categories, including Costume Design, Production Design and Original Music.
Julianne Moore continued her awards season streak with the Leading Actress honour for Still Alice, while J.K. Simmons won Best Supporting Actor for Whiplash and Unbroken's Jack O'Connell was named the EE Rising Star.
Other winners included Citizenfour for Best Documentary and The Lego Movie, which picked up the Best Animated Film prize, despite being snubbed in the Oscar nominations.
During the ceremony, British royal The Duke of Cambridge and Robert Downey, Jr. paid special tribute to late actor/director Lord Richard Attenborough via video message. Attenborough, who directed Downey, Jr. in 1992 biopic Chaplin and served as BAFTA Chairman for eight years, died in August (14). The Iron Man star said, "I'm sad. I miss you Dicky," before reciting the opening lyrics to Smile by Charlie Chaplin.
The main In Memoriam tribute section honoured a number of late stars including Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall, Harold Ramis and Mickey Rooney.
The full winners list is as follows:
Best Film: Boyhood
Outstanding British Film: The Theory of Everything
Best Director: Richard Linklater - Boyhood
Best Leading Actor: Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything
Best Leading Actress: Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons - Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Best Original Screenplay: Wes Anderson - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay: Anthony McCarten - The Theory of Everything
Best Original Music: Alexandre Desplat - The Grand Budapest Hotel
EE Rising Star Award: Jack O'Connell
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Best Documentary: Citizenfour
Best Film Not in the English Language: Ida
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Stephen Beresford, David Livingstone - Pride
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki - Birdman
Best Special Visual Effects: Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter - Interstellar
Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Costume Design: Milena Canonero - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Makeup and Hair: Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier - The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Sound: Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann - Whiplash
Best Editing: Tom Cross - Whiplash
Best Short Film: Boogaloo And Graham
Best Short Animation: The Bigger Picture
BAFTA Fellowship: Mike Leigh
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema: BBC Films.

Benedict Cumberbatch is leading a campaign urging the U.K. Government to pardon thousands of gay men who were convicted of gross indecency. British codebreaker Alan Turing helped the Allies to victory in World War II by cracking the German Enigma code, but years later he was prosecuted and convicted of gross indecency for being a homosexual. He was posthumously pardoned for the crime by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
Cumberbatch became angered by the treatment of Turing during his research for his role as Turing in The Imitation Game, about the wartime codebreakers, and is now leading a campaign for all gay men to receive a pardon like Turing.
In a open letter, published as an advertisement in Britain's The Guardian newspaper, Cumberbatch and co-signatories, including Stephen Fry and The Imitation Game director Morten Tyldum, ask for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to join their cause and pressure the government to make the change.
The letter reads, "The apology and pardon of Alan Turing are to be welcomed but ignores over 49,000 men who were convicted under the same law, many of whom took their own lives. An estimated 15,000 men are believed to still be alive... The U.K.'s homophobic laws made the lives of generations of gay and bisexual men intolerable. It is up to young leaders of today including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to acknowledge this mark on our history and not allow it to stand.
"We call upon Her Majesty's Government to begin a discussion about the possibility of a pardoning of all men, alive or deceased, who like Alan Turing, were convicted..."
The full-page advert ends with a link to an online petition, which has been signed by more than 74,000 people.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has defended plans to award a knighthood to Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Philip following a storm of criticism over the appointment. Abbott, who reinstated the Australian honours tradition last year (14), announced the news on the country's national day on Monday (26Jan15), but he came under fire from both fellow politicians and members of the public who voiced opposition to the Duke of Edinburgh's new title.
The leader has now waded into the row in a bid to silence his critics, insisting Prince Philip is deserving of the honour.
Speaking at an official event in Canberra on Monday, Abbott told reporters, "Prince Philip has been a great servant of Australia. I'm just really pleased that in his 90s, towards the end of a life of service and duty, we in this country are able to properly acknowledge what he's done for us."
When asked whether the prince is a "captain's pick", he retorted, "Look, I'm not going to dispute your characterisation. I think we've had a good thrash of this one. Are there any other subjects that you would like to ask me about?"
The 93-year-old royal is expected to receive the knighthood at a London ceremony later this year (15).